Student Voices

What's in a name?

Some senior ELA students recently completed a writing assignment in which they reflected upon the meanings of their names. Their creative prose was modeled on an excerpt from the novella A House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros.

Tyler

In English my name means Tile Maker. It's like a color that stands alone, like a bright white. It's a sad but soft sound when pronounced. It looks like the number one sideways, standing proud.

I am the first to have this name in my family. No one in my family can relate, but I'm crazy about it. I'm not the one to follow legacies, I make my own. My grandfather would be the one to exaggerate my name everyday. It sounded like trouble at home.

He was my hero and my idol, and then he died. He worked his whole life just to be let down. His life was good, but could've been better. My name to him meant more than any words could say. Now his name only brings sorrow to me.

So life goes on and I know why he would yell so much. His troubles I have inherited. Though my family can argue, my name softens the rough edges. The arguing ends when I am announced.

At school, the only thing I hear is my name attached with hurtful jokes. It feels like my name is rough but tickles your throat. The kid of tickle that makes you cry of laughter. To me it sounds like a cat crying in an alley… all by its lonesome.

I want a new name. One that is nice and everyone can smile to. One like… Lee. Even though it's my middle name, it's smoother. It feels like a great weight has left me.

by Tyler Marchand

Jaden

In Hebrew my name means 'God Has Heard.' I don't think my parents knew that when they named me. Maybe God has heard that I have this name and he's given me a thumbs-up. I'm pretty sure if they did know, they probably wouldn't have named me that. My name reminds me of blue skies on a warm day with a cool breeze. Of the delicious smells of dinner. Of the color green.

My name can also be a girl's name. It's funny how one name can be used for two opposite things, like Pat, Sam, or Jaime. My name also derives from a mixture of Jay and Aiden. I like to know that my name is made up. It makes it different, more out there than most names. Kind of like those two names got thrown into a blender like ice cream and milk and came out a Jaden smoothie.

My uncle suggested my name. I was originally going to be a Jordan but my Uncle Darryl suggested the name the day before I was born and it stuck. I don't know of many Jadens that were before me, so I like to consider myself an "OG" of Jadens. I like Jaden more than Jordan and I'm glad I am a Jaden.

Many people, more adults than younger people, tend to say my name as "Jah-den" instead of "Jay-den." It doesn't annoy me nearly as much as people who spell it with a y. When they add a y it reminds me of a blue jay, and I'm certainly not a bird. My name is a kind word, it comes out easily and is relaxing, unlike the name Jorge which is a word as thick as a baseball bat.

My name looks like the name of a pleasant man, which I think I am most of the time. When you see Jaden, you think of a kind smile and a handshake. Jaden feels almost like a ribbon of silk leaving the mouth, except when it's getting yelled, and then it feels more like a hot iron.

I don't think I could change my name if I had the chance. I like it too much. It's different than most names and I like how it feels and sounds. Maybe if I had to, I would become Virgil. I really like that name too and it has more of an airy feel to it, more translucent than Jaden. Even Steve would do, due to the mendacity and grey feeling of it.

by Jaden Nunes